In my senior year (1967), Humphrey came to Erie during the primaries. His motorcade was due to pass by my high school around 2:30 pm. The principal let us all out early so we could line the street to wave as he passed. I got close enough to get a brief handshake in passing. It was so clammy that my hand was soaked. I got a close look at his face. His smile was mechanical, no eye contact. He reminded me of a robot with human skin.
Not a fair assessment, maybe. He might have been just tired. Or preoccupied. But it left a negative impression on me. Anyway, I was 18 by election day, but the voting age had not yet been changed, so I could not vote in the 1968 election.
My first vote was 1972. No way in hell would I have voted for Nixon. I still remembered his campaign against Kennedy in 1960, even though I was only 10 at the time. Our teachers were getting us to pay attention to current events and follow the campaign.
Besides, I had heard the first, early reports of the Watergate breakin on our local radio station's hourly news. Then it disappeared rapidly from the news. I could not find coverage again when I tried to get my sister and parents to listen later that evening. I was convinced that it was a big deal, which, of course, it later turned out to be. But right through to election day, it was mostly ignored. I couldn't believe it.
Regarding in person contact with politicians, I had moved to NY state by the time Hillary ran for the Senate in 2000. I was able to meet her in person at a Dem rally for her. Contrary to criticisms about her being aloof, I found her to be very personable and sincerely interested in hearing what people had to say. She was relaxed, informal, and did not have a plastered on smile. She was serious when discussing serious issues. She smiled right up to the eyes when comments brought a smile to her face. She walked along an entire line of people to shake hands with each one and did not rush. If someone in the line asked a question, she paused to talk briefly with them before moving on. She connected to people in person in ways that did not show when she was on TV.
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